


Suppressed

by ElAlmaDelMar



Series: A/B/O/tober 2020 [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: A/B/O/tober 2020, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Gen, Suppressant Use, medical side effects
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:40:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26784541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElAlmaDelMar/pseuds/ElAlmaDelMar
Summary: He was actingnormal.It was the weirdest damn thing Nami had ever seen.A/B/O/tober Day 2: Attempted/failed use of suppressants
Relationships: Nami & Sanji
Series: A/B/O/tober 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947415
Comments: 8
Kudos: 119
Collections: A/B/O/tober 2020





	Suppressed

This had been one of the longer stops they'd needed for a log pose reset, and it was almost _suspiciously_ peaceful. Nothing had blown up, no Marines had stopped by the island, there was no tyrannical local government for Luffy to antagonize. They'd spent a week in port, everyone off following their own pursuits and enjoying some time on land, and everything had been just… fine. 

Nami didn't trust it. This wasn't what life as a Strawhat was like. Something _had_ to be wrong. 

She was one of the first people back on the ship; Franky and Usopp were here too, but only because they'd stayed here to do some maintenance work that was far easier to do dockside. 

Robin was the next to return, her expression peaceful and a subtle glow under her skin. Nami thought back, remembered a passing comment about a particularly nice spa that was marketed to betas only — unusual, since most dynamic-exclusive establishments either catered to alphas or omegas — but she was pleased that her crewmate had enjoyed such a nice treat. 

Next was Sanji, and that was where things stopped being normal and peaceful. 

Not that anything was immediately, _visibly_ wrong. He strolled up the docks in company with a middle-aged woman, who led a donkey pulling a cart loaded with groceries. He'd said they needed a full restock, and apparently he'd meant it. It wasn't an unusual scene; his attention was roundly devoted to the woman, talking animatedly with the sort of bright, gleaming happiness he always showed around women, no matter their dynamic. That was just Sanji, and Nami sighed. She didn't want to have to apologize for their randiest alpha to yet someone else… 

But on second glance, there was nothing to apologize _for_. While Sanji's body language was attentive, it was also… detached, in a way he never was. He was _calm._ Not groveling, not cloying, not dancing around this woman and spraying hearts in every direction. 

He was acting _normal_. 

It was the weirdest damn thing Nami had ever seen. 

The pair stopped near the gangplank onto _Sunny_ and began to unload the cart; while Sanji visibly took on most of the work, it was again with a perfectly calm and normal attitude. No over-the-top gentlemanly bullshit, and from here Nami could _hear_ that his voice had lost that weird singsong warble he usually affected around women. He unloaded the groceries into a neat pile beside the gangplank, bowed courteously to the woman — did _not_ try to kiss her hand or her cheek — thanked her for her assistance and the use of her donkey and cart, and watched her head back to shore with no more than a small smile on his face. 

Then he turned and saw Nami watching him. His smile brightened. "Nami-san!!" he called — not _Nami-swaaan_ , no weird little dance he always did, just… just a smile and a wave. And her name. 

Nami suppressed a frown. That was… strange. Not entirely unwelcome — she was flatly relieved to see he hadn't been harassing that poor woman with the cart like he normally would — but Sanji was definitely not acting normal. What was going on with him? 

Things didn't improve as the rest of the crew filtered back. As always, Zoro was by far the last to arrive. Nami had started to wonder if she oughtn't send out a search party to look for their swordsman. 

And yet, Sanji said not a word; he merely kept stowing all the groceries he'd bought, without a single crack about sailing off and leaving Zoro behind or about how useless a pirate who couldn't find the boat was. 

As Zoro finally wandered in, late as always, the tide nearly gone, Sanji looked up from his work — blinked, and then went right back to what he was doing. 

Zoro for his part shot a look at Sanji, showing the familiar expression of bored contempt that always preceded a round of provocation and roughhousing — and then stopped, saying nothing, and sniffed the air with a confused look on his face. 

"I haven't even started cooking yet," Sanji said, flat and neutral. "Come back later." 

Zoro's brows furrowed even deeper, but he shrugged and wandered out to the deck.

What the hell was wrong with Sanji? Nami would have thought she'd welcome a change from the way he and Zoro endlessly taunted each other, but this sudden switch-flip of a personality change was just uncanny. 

Almost as if… 

"Sanji-kun," she said carefully. "Can I make a request for dinner tonight? Since you just stocked up and all?" Her heart was pounding, and she poured all her effort into sounding normal, as though she suspected nothing. If her fears were true… 

He brighted, beaming at her but without the dramatics she'd expect from their puppydog of a cook. "Of course! It would be my pleasure to serve you what you want most!" That _almost_ sounded like the normal Sanji, but he should have been swirling toward her, dancing and worshipful, the bizarre performance that no normal alpha would show toward another alpha. And yet… no. He just smiled at her with pleased expectation. 

"I don't recall the name of it," she said slowly. "That dish you cooked for us that first night after we left Alabasta, do you remember? What was the name of it…?" 

He paused and tilted his head, brow furrowing slightly in confusion. "Ah, the mussel and fennel tagliatelle? I hadn't realized you enjoyed it so much, Nami-san! That was such a sad meal… but of course, I'd be happy to make it for you again if you'd like." 

Ah. Well. That dispelled one suspicion she'd had. She remembered the dish perfectly well, in fact — the way it had stuck in her throat with grief after leaving Vivi behind, how even the cool, refreshing herbal taste had seemed overwhelming and staticky-numb at the same time. But that did mean that this was still _Sanji_ , at least. 

"Oh," she said aloud. "I must have misremembered. I thought it was something else. Don't worry about it, Sanji — make whatever you were planning on. If I remember what I was thinking of, I'll let you know, okay?" 

"Of course," he said, mild and unruffled. "Dinner will be in about two hours, if you could let the others know?" She wasn't sure exactly what she had expected his response to be to that — but the calm nod and the turn back to his word surprised her nonetheless. He remembered — it was still _Sanji_ , not an imposter — but he was so… calm. So normal. So _ab_ normal for the Sanji she knew. 

Dinner was little better. The food was as delicious as always, but there was some sparkle, some _verve_ missing from the presentation. Sanji's meals always felt like an effort — like he was putting his all into feeding them, heart and soul in every dish. This was simply… good. And Sanji himself was as subdued as he'd been earlier, smiling and cheerful but almost alien. 

And everyone noticed. _Everyone._ Even Luffy, typically oblivious to any small changes in mood or demeanor among the crew and easily gulled into complacency, was staring at Sanji with an odd look on his face, so much so that Nami managed to go almost the entire meal without having any of her food stolen. 

Finally, as Sanji was clearing away the dinner dishes, it all came to a head. 

Zoro shoved back his seat with a loud scrape, and said, clear and deliberate, "Oi. Shit-cook. You and your stupid eyebrow come over here and face me like a real alpha." Every word was blatant provocation and should have sent Sanji into a rage. He _hated_ having his alpha status called into question — as proud of it as he was of calling himself a gentleman. 

But instead of an angry snarl and a flurry of kicks, Sanji only rolled his eyes and flipped Zoro an upraised middle finger. "I'm working, dumbass," he grumbled. "Play your stupid mossbrain games later." 

Silence from the rest of the crew. Zoro's eye narrowed, and Robin watched the scene with the sort of calm intensity Nami associated with shit about to break loose. 

So she decided to speak up. "Sanji, are you okay? You've been acting weird as anything ever since you came back to the ship. What happened on that island?" 

"I've been…?" Sanji looked away from Zoro — once again, did not fling himself at her feet, went into none of his usual overwrought performance. "Well, I guess I have." He half-shrugged. "I… thought about what you said, Nami-san. Before we arrived." 

What she'd said? Now everyone's eyes swung to her, and her own gaze turned inward as she thought back. 

Before they'd arrived at the island, that last morning at sea… this had been a long leg of their journey, days and days at sea with little chance to get properly away from each other and no encounters with Marines or other pirates to blow off steam. And to make things worse, Zoro'd had his heat hit. As usual, he'd locked himself in the crows' nest, keeping himself particularly away from the three alphas of the crew — but equally _as usual_ , the three of them still knew there was an omega in heat on board, and tensions had been high. 

Sanji had compensated by being particularly attentive to Nami and Robin, as though to emphasize that his gender attraction was far stronger than his dynamic attraction. But having him fawn over her — to Nami, he was another alpha in her space, and his presence had been suffocating, no matter how helpful or obsequious he tried to be. 

And finally, she'd snapped entirely, lost her temper and flung a torrent of angry words at him, their meaning less important than the message to _back off, leave me alone, go away!_ She hadn't half been thinking about what exactly she even said. 

But he had. He'd listened to every word. And she'd said… 

_Oh, just give up. You aren't even a proper alpha, with the way you act!_ And then, later in her angry rant, _Either grow up and learn to act like a real alpha or go on suppressants so you stop bothering the rest of us!_

It… hadn't been her finest moment, to say the least. She'd made quiet apologies to the others who'd been in earshot at the time — to her everlasting relief, Zoro, the only omega on the crew, hadn't heard a bit of it, up in the crow's nest as he was. But it had never occurred to her to apologize to Sanji, because he never showed her his hurt, and he'd backed off without seeming to take offense. 

Instead, it seemed he'd just taken every word to heart. 

"I went to a doctor on the island," he said quietly, his gaze fixed on her. "Straightaway from when we landed, so I'd have time to adjust before we had to leave. Asked him for the strongest suppressants he had. That is what you wanted, isn't it?" 

That was why he smelled different. The alpha scent on him was rarely strong, especially when he wasn't anywhere near rut, and his behavior had been so odd that she hadn't noticed his scent so much. But no, now that she looked for it — there it was. She could barely smell him, and his presence didn't register for her at all as one of the alphas in the room. 

She'd told him to act like a real alpha or go on suppressants, and he'd chosen to drug away half his personality. She stared at him in horror, and knew she wasn't the only one. 

"Sanji…" His name was barely a breath. "Sanji… I'm sorry. I was angry when I told you to do that. You're… you're acting like a stranger. Like you don't care about anything at all. That isn't what I wanted from you, or for you." 

"I care," he told her, his voice gentle. "I want you to be comfortable, Nami-san. I know… I know I'm dramatic sometimes. But the thought that my presence was intolerable for you…" 

"Stop taking them." It came out as more of a plea than she intended — but she didn't want to retract a bit of the sentiment. "Give us the old Sanji back. You're a pain in the ass sometimes… but that's all of us on this ship. Don't flatten yourself out just to get a little more approval." 

"She's right." 

Everyone — even Sanji — startled at hearing Zoro, of all people, chime in with agreement. Every eye focused on the first mate, who leaned forward and fixed Sanji with a piercing gaze. "You aren't the cook we're used to like this, and it's not an improvement. If you wanna take something to take the edge off, you should'a talked to Chopper about it, not some island quack. This guy just turned you into a shadow of yourself. Fix it." 

Sanji's mouth worked silently for a moment, but then he pressed his lips together and nodded. "I… I will. I'm—" 

"Tch. Don't say you're sorry. Just fix it." Zoro waved a hand lazily. "It ain't the same without you getting in my face. I'd feel bad about kicking your ass while you're like this." 

Well, it wasn't exactly a pep talk, but in their own weird way, Nami supposed it was motivation. And there was something to be said for the omega of the crew voicing his support for an un-suppressed alpha. 

There was an awkward pause then; no one quite seemed to know what to do with themselves, most especially Sanji, until finally Chopper jumped to his feet and clapped his hooves together. 

"Ah! If you've been given an odd medicine, Sanji, we should go talk about that, and I'll give you a checkup. Sometimes hormonal medications like suppressants can cause you other issues." 

"I'll take care of the dishes," Robin added smoothly, and waved away Sanji's immediate — if far less emphatic than usual — protestations against a woman doing any work. "I can finish up quickly, and you should take your time with Chopper." 

As Sanji followed their diminutive doctor into the infirmary, Nami sighed and shook her head. Sure, there hadn't been any explosions or battles while they were on that island, but all the same, it hadn't been an uneventful stop, in the end. You could never trust this crew not to do _something_ crazy, even if it was just Sanji trying much too hard to make her happy.

**Author's Note:**

> Heavily inspired by my own experiences with hormonal medication. Suppressants are a common trope with A/B/O fics, and people seem pretty blithe about them having some major effects... but with every major effect comes the possibility of major side effects.


End file.
